Ming-Chi Kuo Says This Year’s Series 10 Apple Watches Will Increase in Size

Ming-Chi Kuo:

The Series 10 will feature form factor upgrades, including larger screen sizes (increasing from 45mm/41mm to about 49mm/45mm) and a thinner design.

Unlike other devices Apple sells, Apple Watch sizes are given not by screen diagonal but by case height. So what Kuo is claiming is that the current “big” size will become the small size and the new big size will be much bigger. I find this very hard to believe. Since its inception Apple Watch has stood out among smartwatches for making models that are appropriate for people with small wrists.

Anecdotally, almost all women I see wearing an Apple Watch are wearing a small one, and I see a fair number of men who’ve chosen the smaller size as well. As I wrote when reviewing the first Apple Watch Ultra, many people are self conscious about wearing a watch that’s “too big” for their wrist. That concern is often misguided — most people look just fine wearing a bigger watch — but it doesn’t change the fact that people are very reluctant to buy a watch that they fear looks too big on them.

Worth noting that three years ago Kuo, along with Mark Gurman, was completely wrong about the design of the Series 7 watches, with both of them claiming it would have flat sides like the iPhone 12. But it’s also worth noting that back in August, Gurman reported that year’s watches would introduce a new band system that breaks compatibility with existing bands, which, notably, have remained unchanged since Series 0 in 2015. (In fact I’m wearing my space black link bracelet from my own Series 0 on my Series 7 today.)

★ Monday, 17 June 2024